The American Way of Killing

In his latest book, The American Way of Killing, Malcolm Gladwell aims his signature storytelling and research at the epidemic of gun violence in the United States, trying to pinpoint why the U.S. has far more homicides than any of its peer countries around the world. As he has done in previous works, Gladwell tackles a thorny issue, and he makes a persuasive case for his point of view by blending data with relatable stories. The approach has paid dividends for decades, and it works especially well in this latest offering.

Gladwell deconstructs his argument into three parts:

"Part One is about the fundamentally dishonest way Americans talk about their gun violence. Part Two is about how Americans misdiagnose the violence that plagues their streets. Part Three is about the moral recklessness of the course the country has chosen."

Gladwell's thesis doesn't spare anyone embroiled in the debate over gun control, castigating all involved for the path they've taken. The pedantic (and in some cases willfully ignorant) approach taken by all parties (including the Supreme Court) to analyzing the issue has obliterated any clear path to a solution. Gladwell lays out compelling data to support his position, and as in his other books, he is hard to argue with. The result is a step-by-step undoing of several beliefs likely held by many Americans.

"Americans don't see their problem clearly. They think they have a problem with crime. They don't. They have a problem with violence. They think they are overpoliced. They aren't. They are underpoliced. They think murderers behave as deliberately as they do in murder mysteries and on Law & Order. They don't. Homicide is mostly just young men getting into arguments and losing their heads. They think their Constitution enshrines a basic right to own guns. It doesn't."

It's as persuasive an argument as Gladwell has made since The Tipping Point. But it also serves to point out how far America is from solving the problem. For listeners of Revisionist History, the content will be almost identical to the podcast series it was compiled from. The book functions essentially as a transcript, so those expecting new research or a deeper dive beyond what they’ve already heard will be disappointed. Yet, even in print, the material remains remarkably compelling. That lack of fresh insight, combined with a softer Part Three than the opening acts, keeps this just shy of five stars for me—though it remains an essential read for any American.